Gold Drops Below $1700, US Bullion Coins on December Sales Board

El Yunque National Forest 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins were among U.S. Mint bullion products to see advances

Gold prices fell on Tuesday to a four-week low and below the psychological level of $1,700 an ounce. Silver and other precious metals posted losses as well.

Gold for February delivery declined $25.30, or 1.5%, to $1,695.80 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Gold prices traversed an intraday trading range of between $1,692.60 and $1,719.20. The settlement price was the lowest since gold dropped to $1,683.20 an ounce on November 5.

"Gold is being sold along with just about everything else in commodities with the worries on the fiscal cliff," Bart Melek, the Toronto-based head of commodity strategy at TD Securities, said in a telephone interview relayed on Bloomberg.

The metal "is usually said to be a safe haven, but the threat to economies globally from the fiscal cliff is having knock-on effects," added Melek.

Silver plunged the most among metals. March silver fell 95.1 cents, or 2.8%, to $32.808 an ounce, ranging from $32.745 to $33.750.

Platinum for January delivery settled to $1,582.90 an ounce, falling $30.90 or 1.9%. The precious metal traded between $1,581.00 and $1,609.90.

March palladium shed $8.55, or 1.2%, to $682.70 an ounce, ranging from $678.80 to $691.80.

Bullion Prices in London

Bullion prices in London were also lower. In contrasting the most recent PM fixings:

Gold declined $22.25, or 1.3%, to $1,697.75 an ounce,

Silver fell 12.0 cents, or 0.4%, to $33.30 an ounce,

Platinum lost $12.00, or 0.8%, to $1,587.00 an ounce, and

Palladium dipped $2.00, or 0.3%, to $680.00 an ounce

US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in December

U.S. Mint bullion coins on Tuesday entered the sales board for the first time in December. Silver Eagles posted the biggest gains, up 700,000 or 200,000 more than all last week. Sales of bullion gold coins were also strong with a total of 10,000 ounces sold between the Gold Eagles and Gold Buffalo. Also advancing were sales of the five ounce coin depicting El Yunque National Forest. It rose 2,000.